AN autograph hunter has fallen 10 names short of compiling a collection of every living Welsh international football and rugby player.

AN autograph hunter has fallen 10 names short of compiling a collection of every living Welsh international football and rugby player.

"Heroes should not be forgotten," said Lyn Evans, a 61-year-old bus driver who has compiled one of the most impressive autograph collections in the nation.

In two beautifully-arranged albums, Mr Evans has the autographs of every living Welsh rugby international, and all but 10 of those who have represented Wales on the football pitch.

Mr Evans is now striving to track down the final 10 so that the signatures of a half century's worth of sporting greats will be recorded for posterity.

If, as is persistently rumoured, a museum dedicated to Wales's sporting heritage is built in the capital, Mr Evans will put his collection on public display.

Mr Evans remembers "catching the bug" in 1954 when he and his friends from Trealaw in Rhondda travelled to watch Cardiff beat Wolverhampton 3-2.

Since then he has waited in the rain by tour buses and outside hotels, meeting some of the world's finest sportsmen.

Wales has a small community of dedicated auto-graph-hunters who share information and help one another build up their collections.

"It's like the Mafia," Mr Evans laughed.

Although the hobby has been given a bad name in recent years by people posing as fans, but aiming to sell autographed merchandise at an inflated price, Mr Evans insists the players can tell the difference between those who are exploiting them and the rest for whom meeting the athletes is an honour.

True fans, he claims, ask them to sign a higher standard of writing paper.

The pages of his albums are filled with lovingly presented autograph cards; each with a photograph of the legend and brief details of his career.

Many modern sensations such as Ryan Giggs and Robert Earnshaw fill his pages, but he speaks of older players with the greatest affection.

"The old ones are the best," he said. "John Charles was a player and a gentleman. He should be made a knight."

He remembers with fondness the graciousness of his personal sporting hero, Irishman George Best.

He recalled Best spending the half-time break of a difficult game against Swansea on the telephone with a young boy in hospital. "George is one of the best," he said.

Showbusiness greats including Jerry Lewis, Sophia Loren and a young Tom Jones, then known as Tommy Scott, have granted him their signatures.

If a luminary ever refuses an autograph, Mr Evans is rarely offended. "It depends when and where you go for them. Sometimes they are too busy, which is understandable."

But as footballers have become elevated into celebrities, it has become more of a challenge to get close to them.

"It's getting more difficult," he said. "Especially for those Premiership sides, the security is unbelievable."

The determination with which Mr Evans pursues his passion was born in tragedy.

He returned to the pastime of his youth following the death of his wife and four-year-old daughter "rather than cracking up" with grief.

When he married again, he did not stop.

Today he is a proud father of three grown-up children, and is helping introduce his grandson to autograph-hunting.

All that stands between him and perfect satisfaction are the names of 10 footballers and Cardiff City's absence from the Premiership.

He hopes all this could be about to change.

ANYONE who can help Mr Evans track down the final autographs for his collection, which he hopes the Welsh nation will one day enjoy, can ring The Western Mail on 029 2058 3679.